Every session brings the teachers more pride and joy in all the accomplishments and growth of these preschoolers! The weather has been a wonderful backdrop to watch them spread their wings and soar! Oh! How we love our jobs!

Typically at this time of year, parents ask us what they should work on with their preschoolers over the summer. Of course, you should work on having the best summer ever, filled with fun and loving experiences! Continue to have playdates! Meet up at the parks around town. Playdates are the best lessons for social emotional skills, sharing, checking in, inviting to play, advocating for selves, etc.

Some fun exercises to help prepare for the fall:

1. Teach them to open snack bags and water bottles
2. Play board games to learn how to take turns
3. Count steps as you walk- number recognition in action
4. Talk about feelings during story time
5. Practice writing name, recognizing name in print and name each letter of their name
6. Sing songs and clap, building rhythm
7. Let them dress themselves, put on their own coats
8. Play “Simon Says” for listening and following direction practice
9. Practice asking for help, using manners and specifics “Mommy, can you help me to get this lid off please?
10. Practice pouring water from a pitcher into cups
11. Practice cutting paper with kid scissors, try cutting on a line.
12. Use tongs and tweezers to move cotton balls or macaroni noodles
13. Play with playdough to strengthen hand muscles
14. Form letters on the rug with matchbox cars, stuffies, legos, blocks, etc.
15. Build Sand Castles, or towers of blocks!
16. Go on hikes! Take turns being the leader.
17. Sort the silverware out of the dishwasher into the drawer.
18. Teach them to make their bed.
19. Have dance parties!
20. Read, read, read! Lots and lots of books and stories!

Ladybugs –

Our Ladybugs were the first class of the week this week, as we had Monday off for Memorial Day. Our classes this week focused on Crickets, because these little Bugs will be Crickets after just three more sessions! We made a peek-a-boo book and learned a new song called “I’m a little Cricket”, we made Cricket necklaces and we painted some clothespins green and yellow to turn those into Crickets also!

We know our kiddos are growing up to the next level of their preschool education, but we can see it, also! The kids are checking in on each other, rooting each other on, using their classmates names, and sitting so nicely at circle! They recognize when a good friend is absent and tell the teachers that this makes them a little sad. They cheer on their friends when they are playing…”Oh, good job! Oh! my goodness! That was so good!”.. as they are playing catch with each other. Several kiddos that were working on potty training are pretty independent in taking themselves to the bathroom or letting us know when they have to go. A few of our ladybugs can write their names easily and can find their names when they are looking at the mailboxes.

Wow! Such a short time ago these littlest littles were shy, nervous and unsure about if they wanted to be at The Garden or not! Look at them now!

Three sessions to go! Have a great weekend!

Crickets –

Our Crickets spent the whole day outside on Wednesday! Everyone made a stamper book based on The Three Little Pigs, and we continued learning about insects. After a potty break and hand wash, we headed up to the forest to have a picnic snack. The kids had a great time exploring the trails and swinging on the rope swing. Several of the children had a ball on the slack line together and pretended to be “5 Little Monkeys jumping on a Bed”.

On Friday, we celebrated Noble’s birthday. What a fun week, and a great kickoff to the final days of the school year.

Can you believe, we have just 5 sessions left?! Have a great weekend!

Honeybees –

We spent the whole day outside on Tuesday, doing our work at the table and finding snails and caterpillars and slugs and all sorts of treasures! We had a picnic snack and came into the classroom for the last 15 minutes of our session, learning a new song about honeybees and doing our closing circle song. We had our first creek play time this week and love to see our bees exploring.

On Wednesday, we celebrated our friend, Lowen’s, fifth birthday, on his actual birthday! We have one half birthday to celebrate next week for our friend Julius, and then we will have celebrated each of our Honeybees at a special circle. We love the Honeybee birthday circle, where each of our Bee friends talks to us about the special friend and draws a beautiful picture of them playing together. It’s a lovely celebration of their final birthday before they become a Kindergartener. We especially love the page that the birthday kid writes for themselves. It’s a sweet little view into what they think they will be when they get older, what special things they will be able to do when they are five, and how much will change for them in the next year.

Our Bees are feeling the change coming and we are doing a lot of talking about emotions and feelings, friendships and changes, and letting them know that it is okay to feel whatever they are feeling.

Next week, our attention turns to the rootin’ tootin’ old west, with tall tales and cowboy stories, along with the kiddos taking on their own cowboy name. We encourage you to help them think of what they would like their cowboy name to be. We try to find a word with the same starting letter as their own name, and then it can be an animal or a phrase – like Snake Eye Sue, Lassoing Larry, or Coyote Cate, Dern Tootin’ Donna, or even a rhyme, like Brookie Cookie. Have fun with your Honeybee this weekend, thinking up a good cowboy name and we will love using them next Friday at our Honeybee Roundup at the Okie Dokie Corral!

Oh my goodness! 7 sessions to go! Have a great weekend!